Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 25 November 2025.

To note the latest updates to the recommendation tracker.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s2305/Public%20Items%20-%20Meeting%20Procedure%20Rules.pdf 

The deadline for the submission of public questions is 3 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

This report updates the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on arrangements to support Care Experienced Young People (CEYP) as they move toward independent living. It responds to the committee's recommendation in June 2025; that the Committee seeks assurance that the new Joint Housing protocol has been successfully agreed and is working effectively to ensure our Care Experienced Young People are seeing an improved service and are in receipt of timely advice and safe housing that suits their individual needs and hopes for the future.

It evidences the effectiveness of the Joint Housing Protocol review in improving partnership working, reducing homelessness, and ensuring priority access to housing options such as Staying Put, Supported Lodgings, Specialist Supported Housing, and independent accommodation.

Governance has been strengthened through the BCP Youth Homelessness Board, embedding strategic oversight and accountability. Young people’s voices have shaped improvements to housing information, pathway clarity, and pre- and post-move support, while specialist and supported housing commissioning continues to provide tailored assistance for those with higher needs.

Support for planning independence is integrated across pathways, with recommissioned services to be focused upon enhancing life skills and resilience. Despite progress, challenges remain due to local housing market pressures and affordability, requiring continued learning from reviews and lived experience alongside implementation of the forthcoming Children’s Wellbeing and Skills Bill to secure positive outcomes for CEYP.

This report responds to the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s second set of KLOEs on High Needs Block (HNB) “invest?to?save” activity. It distinguishes: (i) initiatives funded from HNB (which impact the in?year position unless offset by savings) and (ii) initiatives funded from the General Fund or external grants (which do not worsen the HNB position but can drive service improvement and future cost avoidance). It summarises delivery to date (including sufficiency expansion and early?years interventions), the emerging impact, the approach to measuring cost avoidance, and the new initiatives now in development.

The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee commissioned a Family Hubs Working Group to better understand and review progress of the implementation of Family Hubs in BCP. 

The purpose of this report is to inform the committee of the output of the working group, including suggested recommendations.

This report sets out the Education and Skills Capital Programme for the period 2026/27– 2028/29. The report summarises available capital funding totalling £34.9 million and provides an indicative programme of investment of £33.5 million set against key budget headings aligned to improvement priorities across the service.  The planned expenditure of available capital is set out in this report and shows a balanced budget. 

BCP Council is responsible for administering admission arrangements for its community and voluntary controlled schools. There is a legal requirement to determine the arrangements annually as described in the School Admissions Code 2021 and associated legislation.

The local authority must also formulate and publish a scheme to coordinate the admission arrangements for all publicly funded schools within their area for the 2027/28 academic year.

A public consultation on the proposed 2027/28 admission arrangements was held on from 10 November 2025 until 22 December 2026. The proposed change is a reduction to the Published Admission Number at Burton CE Primary School to reflect the broader trend of fewer families seeking school places in the area due to falling birth rates.

It is recommended that the arrangements are determined by council members.

BCP Council adopted ‘A shared vision for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 2024-28’ in May 2024. 

The shared vision is the corporate strategy which sets out the council’s vision, priorities and ambitions as well as the principles which underpin the way the council works as it develops and delivers its services. 

Incorporated in the vision is a set of measures of progress for achieving the vision, priorities and ambitions. 

This is the performance monitoring report for Quarter Two 25-26, presenting an update on the progress measures. 

The council’s delivery against its priorities and ambitions can also be monitored through the performance dashboardwhich is available on the council’s website providing up-to-date real time information on the progress measures.

To receive a verbal update from the Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People.

The Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee is asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Work Plan.